Demand response event dissemination system and method

ABSTRACT

A method may include receiving peer data describing a set of peer clients associated with a demand response application server and describing how the peer clients communicate with one another. The peer data may be configured so that a subset of the peer clients directly communicate with the demand response application server and the demand response application server does not directly communicate with each of the peer clients. The method may also include receiving announcement data describing an event specified by the demand response application server and determining event response data responsive to the announcement data. The method may also include identifying, from the set of peer clients specified by the demand response application server, a set of recipient peer clients to receive the event response data.

FIELD

The embodiments discussed herein are related to a demand responseapplication server. More particularly, the embodiments discussed hereinrelate to reducing the bandwidth requirements for a demand responseapplication server.

BACKGROUND

Demand response (“DR”) may be described as the changes in electricityusage by end-use customers from their normal consumption patterns inresponse to changes in the price of electricity over time. DR may alsorelate to incentive payments designed to induce lower electricity use attimes of high wholesale market prices or when the electricity grid isunreliable. DR includes all intentional modifications to consumptionpatterns of electricity of end-use customers that are intended to alterthe timing, level of instantaneous demand or the total electricityconsumption.

DR policies are rules that describe how end-use customers may modifytheir consumption patterns of electricity. A DR event is an action takenby an end-use consumer to modify their electricity consumption pattern.Demand response application servers (“DR servers”) are hardware serversthat work with client devices associated with end-use consumers (“DRclients”) to implement DR policies. These DR policies may be defined bya DR application that is implemented by the DR server.

The subject matter claimed herein is not limited to embodiments thatsolve any disadvantages or that operate only in environments such asthose described above. Rather, this background is only provided toillustrate one example technology area where some embodiments describedherein may be practiced.

SUMMARY

A method may include receiving peer data describing a set of peerclients associated with a demand response application server anddescribing how the peer clients communicate with one another. The peerdata may be configured so that a subset of the peer clients directlycommunicate with the demand response application server and the demandresponse application server does not directly communicate with each ofthe peer clients. The method may also include receiving announcementdata describing an event specified by the demand response applicationserver and determining event response data responsive to theannouncement data. The method may also include identifying, from the setof peer clients specified by the demand response application server, aset of recipient peer clients to receive the event response data.

The object and advantages of the embodiments will be realized andachieved at least by the elements, features, and combinationsparticularly pointed out in the claims.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and arenot restrictive of the invention, as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Example embodiments will be described and explained with additionalspecificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of some implementations of an examplesystem for data dissemination configured to reduce the processing andbandwidth load for a DR server;

FIGS. 2-4 illustrate an example architecture for data disseminationconfigured to reduce the processing and bandwidth load for a DR server;

FIG. 5 is an example bandwidth reduction module;

FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate an example method for determining peer dataand announcement data;

FIG. 7 is an example event manager module;

FIG. 8 illustrates an example method for determining beacon data;

FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate an example method for determining eventresponse data; and

FIGS. 10A and 10B illustrate another example method for determiningevent response data.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

A typical demand response application server (“DR”) server mustcommunicate with numerous demand response (“DR”) clients. For example,each DR server may communicate with thousands or millions of DR clients.Communication patterns defined by DR applications require substantialprocessing and bandwidth capabilities by the DR servers. Presently, eachDR server is required to directly communicate with each DR client andmaintain persistent connections with each DR client. Thesecommunications between the DR server and the DR clients include the DRserver distributing DR events and pricing information to each of the DRclients. Accordingly, the DR server experiences high processing andbandwidth loads. The present disclosure relates to reducing theprocessing and bandwidth loads for DR servers.

Embodiments of the present invention will be explained with reference tothe accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of some implementations of a system100 for DR event dissemination configured to reduce the processing andbandwidth load for a DR server, arranged in accordance with at least oneembodiment described herein. The illustrated system 100 includes clientdevices 115 a . . . 115 n (also referred to herein individually andcollectively as 115) and a DR server 103. In the illustratedimplementation, these entities of the system 100 are communicativelycoupled via a network 105.

The client devices 115 in FIG. 1 may be used by way of example. WhileFIG. 1 illustrates three client devices 115 a, 115 b and 115 n, thepresent disclosure applies to a system architecture having one or moreclient devices 115. Furthermore, although FIG. 1 illustrates one network105 coupled to the client devices 115 and the DR server 103, inpractice, one or more networks 105 may be connected to these entities.Furthermore, while FIG. 1 includes one DR server 103, the architecture100 could include one or more DR servers 103.

The network 105 may be a conventional type, wired or wireless, and mayhave numerous different configurations including a star configuration,token ring configuration or other configurations. Furthermore, thenetwork 105 may include a local area network (LAN), a wide area network(WAN) (e.g., the Internet), or other interconnected data paths acrosswhich multiple devices may communicate. In some implementations, thenetwork 105 may be a peer-to-peer network. The network 105 may also becoupled to or include portions of a telecommunications network forsending data in a variety of different communication protocols. In someimplementations, the network 105 may include Bluetooth communicationnetworks or a cellular communications network for sending and receivingdata including via short messaging service (SMS), multimedia messagingservice (MMS), hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), direct dataconnection, WAP, email, etc.

The DR server 103 may be a hardware server that includes a processor, amemory and network communication capabilities. In the illustratedimplementation, the DR server 103 is coupled to the network 105 viasignal line 104. The DR server 103 sends and receives data to and fromone or more of the client devices 115 via the network 105. For example,the DR server 103 sends events to the client devices 115 and receivesresponses from the client devices 115 via the network 105.

The DR server 103 includes a bandwidth reduction module 199 and astorage device 109. The bandwidth reduction module 199 may be code androutines for reducing the bandwidth required for the DR server 103 toprovide the functionality described herein. In some implementations, thebandwidth reduction module 199 may be implemented using hardwareincluding a field-programmable gate array (“FPGA”) or anapplication-specific integrated circuit (“ASIC”). In some otherinstances, the bandwidth reduction module 199 may be implemented using acombination of hardware and software. In some implementations, thebandwidth reduction module 199 may be stored in a combination of thedevices and servers, or in one of the devices or servers. In someimplementations, the bandwidth reduction module 199 acts in part as athin-client application that may be stored on the DR server 103 and inpart as components that may be stored on the client device 115. Thebandwidth reduction module 199 is described in more detail withreference to FIGS. 5, 6A and 6B.

The storage device 109 is a non-transitory memory that stores data forproviding the functionality described herein. The storage device 109 maybe a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) device, a static random accessmemory (SRAM) device, flash memory or some other memory devices. In someimplementations, the storage device 109 also includes a non-volatilememory or similar permanent storage device and media including a harddisk drive, a floppy disk drive, a CD-ROM device, a DVD-ROM device, aDVD-RAM device, a DVD-RW device, a flash memory device, or some othermass storage device for storing information on a more permanent basis.The storage device 109 is described in more detail with reference toFIGS. 5, 6A and 6B.

The client device 115 may be a computing device that includes a memoryand a processor. For example, the client device 115 may be aprocessor-based demand response switch, a server, a laptop computer, adesktop computer, a tablet computer, a mobile telephone, a personaldigital assistant (“PDA”), a mobile email device, a portable gameplayer, a portable music player, a television with one or moreprocessors embedded therein or coupled thereto or other electronicdevice capable of accessing the network 105.

In the illustrated implementation, the client device 115 a iscommunicatively coupled to the network 105 via signal line 108, theclient device 115 b is communicatively coupled to the network 105 viasignal line 110 and the client device 115 n is communicatively coupledto the network 105 via signal line 112.

The client device 115 includes an event manager module 107. The eventmanager module 107 may be code and routines for communicating with thebandwidth reduction module 199 (and, optionally, other event managermodules 107 operable on other client devices 115) to reduce thebandwidth required for the DR server 103 to provide the functionalitydescribed herein. In some implementations, the event manager module 107may be implemented using hardware including a FPGA or ASIC. In someother instances, the event manager module 107 may be implemented using acombination of hardware and software. In some implementations, the eventmanager module 107 may be stored in a combination of the devices andservers, or in one of the devices or servers. In some implementations,the event manager module 107 acts in part as a thin-client applicationthat may be stored on the client device 115 and in part as componentsthat may be stored on the DR server 103. The event manager module 107 isdescribed in more detail with reference to FIGS. 2-4, 7, 8, 9A, 9B, 10Aand 10B.

FIGS. 2-4 illustrate a block diagram of some implementations of anexample architecture 200 for DR event dissemination configured to reducethe processing and bandwidth load for the DR server 103, arranged inaccordance with at least one embodiment described herein. Depicted inFIGS. 2-4 are the DR server 103, the bandwidth reduction module 199 andnine client devices 115. FIGS. 2-4 depict the same architecture atdifferent points in time. FIG. 2 occurs at a point in time before FIG.3. FIG. 3 occurs at a point in time after FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 4 occursat a point in time after FIGS. 1, 2 and 3

Referring now to FIG. 2, the example architecture 200 is depicted. Inthe depicted implementation a first client device 115 b, a second clientdevice 115 c and a third client device 115 h are transmitting beacons toa fourth client device 115 e. A beacon as used herein may refer to asignal transmitted by a client device 115. By contrast, a signaltransmitted by the DR server 103 may be referred to herein as a “serverbeacon.” For the sake of simplicity, the data included in a beacon maybe referred to herein as “beacon data” and the data included in a serverbeacon may be referred to herein as “server beacon data.”

In FIG. 2 the beacon data describes different events generated by thebandwidth reduction module 199. An “event” is a DR event generated bythe bandwidth reduction module 199. In FIGS. 2-4, the events aredesignated as “event1,” “event2” and “event3.” Event1, event2 and event3are different events generated by the bandwidth reduction module 199.For example, event1 may be an event indicating that the price forelectricity is scheduled to increase at a certain time and that theclient devices 115 may reduce their consumption of electricity to aspecific usage. Event2 and event 3 may be similar events relating to DRin an electricity grid system.

In the implementation depicted in FIG. 2, the first client device 115 btransmits a beacon to the fourth client device 115 e that includesbeacon data indicating that the first client device 115 b has datadescribing event1, event2 and event3. The second client device 115 ctransmits a beacon to the fourth client device 115 e that includesbeacon data indicating that the second client device 115 c has datadescribing event2 and event3. The third client device 115 h transmits abeacon to the fourth client device 115 e that includes beacon dataindicating that the fourth client device 115 h has data describingevent1. The beacon data may include announcement data. As will bedescribed in more detail with reference to FIG. 5, the announcement datais data that describes one or more events that are generated by thebandwidth reduction module 199.

The example architecture 200 depicted in FIGS. 2-4 will now be describedin more detail. In the implementation depicted in FIGS. 2-4, the nineclient devices 115 are a set of peer clients associated with the DRserver 103. Although each of the client devices 115 are associated withthe DR server 103, only the first client device 115 b and the secondclient device 115 c are configured to directly communicate with the DRserver 103. This configuration is beneficial since the DR server 103does not have to directly communicate with each of the client devices115, thereby reducing the bandwidth necessary for the DR server 103 toperform its function. By contrast, existing DR systems require the DRserver 103 to directly communicate with each of the client devices 115and maintain persistent contact with each of the client device 115,thereby introducing a bandwidth load on the DR server 103 that is muchhigher than the bandwidth load required according to the implementationdepicted in FIGS. 2-4.

The bandwidth reduction module 199 determines peer data configured toreduce bandwidth requirements for the DR server 103. The peer data isdata describing a set of peer clients associated with the DR server 103and how the client devices 115 included in the set of peer clientscommunicate with one another. A set of peer clients is one or moreclient devices 115 configured to communicate with the DR server 103 andassociated with the DR server 103 in a manner to receive data (e.g.,peer data and announcement data) from the DR server 103. For example, inFIG. 2 the nine depicted client devices 115 a-115 n are the set of peerclients. The peer data is configured so that the DR server 103 does notdirectly communicate with each of the peer clients in the set of peerclients. However, the peer data is also configured so that the DR server103 does directly communicate with one or more recipient peer clients. Arecipient peer client is any client device 115 that is configured todirectly communicate with the DR server 103. Each set of peer clientsincludes one or more recipient peer clients. In the example architecture200 depicted in FIG. 2, the first client device 115 b and the secondclient device 115 c are recipient peer clients since they eachcommunicate directly with the DR server 103.

In some instances, the peer data may include data describing a hop countbetween different client devices 115. A hop count is a description ofthe number of hops between different client devices 115. In FIG. 2, forexample, client device 115 n is two hops from client device 115 c sincethe shortest communication from client device 115 n to client device 115c would first have to be transmitted to client device 115 d or clientdevice 115 h; client device 115 d or client device 115 h could thenrelay the transmission to client device 105 c. In this example, thetransmission from client device 105 n to client device 115 d or clientdevice 115 h is a first hop, and the transmission from client device 115d or client device 115 h to client device 105 c is a second hop.Accordingly, client device 115 n is two hops from client device 105 csince a transmission from client device 105 n to client device 105 crequires at least two hops.

As described above, the peer data defines how the client devices 115included in the set of peer clients communicate with one another. Theclient devices 115 are configured by the peer data to communicate withother peer clients using different communication associations that arestored by each client device 115. The communication associationsdescribe which client devices 115 communicate with one another. Forexample, client device 115 e is configured to communicate with clientdevices 115 b, 115 c, 115 f, 115 g and 115 h. The communicationassociations between client device 115 e and client devices 115 b, 115c, 115 f, 115 g and 115 h is indicated in FIG. 2 by elements 216, 218,224, 226 and 228, respectively. The other communication associationsdepicted in FIGS. 2-4 are described below.

Client device 115 a is configured to communicate with client devices 115b and 115 f, as indicated by communication associations 206 and 212,respectively. Client device 115 b is configured to communicate withclient devices 115 a, 115 c, 115 e and 115 g, as indicated bycommunication associations 206, 208, 216 and 214, respectively. Clientdevice 115 b is also configured to communicate with the DR server 103,as indicated by communication association 202. Client device 115 c isconfigured to communicate with client devices 115 b, 115 d, 115 e and115 h, as indicated by communication associations 208, 210, 218 and 220,respectively. Client device 115 c is also configured to communicate withthe DR server 103, as indicated by communication association 204.

Client device 115 d is configured to communicate with client devices 115c and 115 n, as indicated by communication associations 210 and 222,respectively. Client device 115 d is configured to communicate withclient devices 115 c and 115 n, as indicated by communicationassociations 210 and 222, respectively. Client device 115 f isconfigured to communicate with client devices 115 a and 115 e, asindicated by communication associations 212 and 224, respectively.Client device 115 g is configured to communicate with client devices 115b and 115 e, as indicated by communication associations 214 and 226,respectively. Client device 115 h is configured to communicate withclient devices 115 e, 115 c and 115 n, as indicated by communicationassociations 228, 220 and 230, respectively. Client device 115 n isconfigured to communicate with client devices 115 d and 115 h, asindicated by communication associations 222 and 230, respectively.

The bandwidth reduction module 199 generates announcement datadescribing an event for the set of peer clients. For example, thebandwidth reduction module 199 generates announcement data describingevent1, event2 and event3. The recipient peer clients 115 b, 115 c areassociated with a subset of the peer clients. For example, first clientdevice 115 b is associated with client devices 115 a, 115 e and 115 g.The second client device 115 c is associated with client devices 115 d,115 e and 115 h. The DR server 103 transmits a beacon to the recipientpeer clients 115 b, 115 c. The recipient peer clients 115 b, 115 c thentransmit the announcement data to the client devices 115 with which theyhave a communication association. For example, recipient peer client 115c receives the announcement data from the DR server 103 and thentransmits the announcement data to client devices 115 b, 115 d, 115 eand 115 h. The client devices 115 which receive the announcement datafrom the recipient peer clients 115 b, 115 c then send out beacons tothe client devices 115 they are associated with to inform these clientdevices 115 about the event described in the announcement data; theseclient devices 115 may in turn request the announcement data from theclient devices 115 who have already received the announcement data.

For example, the recipient peer client 115 c transmits beacon data toclient device 115 h informing the client device 115 h of one or moreevents the recipient peer client 115 c has information about. The clientdevice 115 h analyzes the events received from recipient peer client 115c to determine whether any events are missing from the announcement datastored by the client device 115 h. For example, the client device 115 hretrieves announcement data stored in a memory of the client device 115h and cross references the events described by this announcement dataagainst the events received from recipient peer client 115 c todetermine whether any events are missing. Upon determining that therecipient peer client 115 c has information about an event which theclient device 115 h does not have information about (i.e., “a missingevent”), the client device 115 h sends a beacon to the recipient peerclient 115 c requesting information about the missing event. Therecipient peer client 115 c transmits a beacon to the client device 115h including beacon data describing the missing event.

The client device 115 h repeats the process described in the precedingparagraph with client devices 115 e and 115 n since client device 115 hhas a communication association with these client devices 115 e and 115n. For example, the client device 115 h transmits a beacon to the client115 n including a description of one or more events which the client 115h has information about. The client 115 n determines whether there is amissing event and, if so, the client device 115 n transmits a beacon tothe client device 115 h including a request for information about themissing event. This process may be repeated until each of the clientdevices 115 included in the set of peer clients has all of the eventsgenerated by the bandwidth reduction module 199. In this way, all theclient devices 115 included in the set of peer clients receiveinformation about all the events generated by the bandwidth reductionmodule 199 even though the peer data is configured so that the DR server103 does not directly communicate with each of the client devices 115included in the set of peer clients. Instead, the DR server 103 directlycommunicates with only a subset of the peer clients (i.e., the recipientpeer clients 115 b, 115 c).

The client devices 115 included in the set of peer clients transmitbeacons including event response data indicating their participation inone or more events described by the announcement data. The eventresponse data is transmitted directly or indirectly to the DR server 103in a similar manner as the announcement data is transmitted from the DRserver 103 to the client devices 115. This concept is described infurther detail below with reference to FIGS. 5-10A.

In some implementations, the data included in the beacons describedabove is encrypted. The encryption of this data will be described inmore detail with reference to FIGS. 5-10A.

Referring now to FIG. 3, the example architecture 200 is depicted at amoment in time occurring after the moment in time depicted in FIG. 2. Inthe implementation depicted in FIG. 3, the fourth client 115 e transmitsa beacon to the first client device 115 b that includes beacon dataindicating that the fourth client device 115 e is requesting datadescribing event2 and event3.

Referring now to FIG. 4, the example architecture 200 is depicted at amoment in time occurring after the moment in time depicted in FIG. 3. Inthe implementation depicted in FIG. 4, the client devices 115 a, 115 band 115 e are communicating with one another to transmit beaconsincluding event response data to the DR server 103. A fifth client 115 atransmits a beacon including event response data to the first client 115b. The fourth client 115 e transmits a beacon including event responsedata to the first client 115 b. The first client 115 b transmits abeacon including event response data from the fourth client 115 e andthe fifth client 115 a to the DR server 103. In some implementations,the data included in one or more of the beacons described above isencrypted. The encryption of the event response data will be describedin more detail with reference to FIGS. 5-10A.

Referring now to FIG. 5, an example of the bandwidth reduction module199 is illustrated in accordance with at least one embodiment describedherein. FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a computing device 500 thatincludes a bandwidth reduction module 599, a first processor 535, astorage 509 and a first communication unit 545 according to someexamples. The components of the computing device 500 are communicativelycoupled by a bus 520. In some implementations, the computing device 500may be a DR server, such as the DR server 103 of FIGS. 1-4 or a clientdevice, such as the client device 115 of FIGS. 1-4. The bandwidthreduction module 599 and the storage 509 may be similar to the bandwidthreduction module 199 of FIGS. 1-4 and the storage 109 of FIG. 1,respectively.

The first processor 535 may include an arithmetic logic unit, amicroprocessor, a general purpose controller or some other processorarray to perform computations and provide electronic display signals toa display device. The first processor 535 is coupled to the bus 520 forcommunication with the other components via signal line 536. The firstprocessor 535 may process data signals and may include various computingarchitectures including a complex instruction set computer (CISC)architecture, a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) architecture, oran architecture implementing a combination of instruction sets. AlthoughFIG. 5 includes a single processor 535, multiple processors may beincluded. Other processors, operating systems, sensors, displays andphysical configurations may be possible.

The storage device 509 stores instructions or data that may be executedby the first processor 535. The storage device 509 is coupled to the bus520 for communication with the other components via signal line 538. Theinstructions or data may include code for performing the techniquesdescribed herein.

The first communication unit 545 may transmit data to at least one of aclient device and a DR server depending upon where bandwidth reductionmodule 599 may be stored. The first communication unit 545 may receivedata from one of a client device and a DR server depending upon wherebandwidth reduction module 599 may be stored. The first communicationunit 545 is coupled to the bus 520 via signal line 546. In someimplementations, the first communication unit 545 includes a port fordirect physical connection to a network, such as a network 105 of FIG. 1or to another communication channel. For example, the firstcommunication unit 545 may include a port such as a USB, SD, RJ45 orsimilar port for wired communication with a client device. In someimplementations, the first communication unit 545 includes a wirelesstransceiver for exchanging data with the client device or othercommunication channels using one or more wireless communication methods,including IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.16, BLUETOOTH® or another suitablewireless communication method.

In some implementations, the first communication unit 545 includes acellular communications transceiver for sending and receiving data overa cellular communications network including via short messaging service(SMS), multimedia messaging service (MMS), hypertext transfer protocol(HTTP), direct data connection, WAP, e-mail or another suitable type ofelectronic communication. In some implementations, the firstcommunication unit 545 includes a wired port and a wireless transceiver.The first communication unit 545 also provides other conventionalconnections to a network for distribution of data using standard networkprotocols including TCP/IP, HTTP, HTTPS and SMTP, etc.

In the implementation illustrated in FIG. 5, the bandwidth reductionmodule 599 includes a first communication module 502, a peer module 504,an event module 506, a first encryption module 508 and a firstdecryption module 510. These components of the bandwidth reductionmodule 599 are communicatively coupled to each other via the bus 520.

The first communication module 502 is communicatively coupled to the bus520 via signal line 522. The peer module 504 is communicatively coupledto the bus 520 via signal line 524. The event module 506 iscommunicatively coupled to the bus 520 via signal line 526. The firstencryption module 508 is communicatively coupled to the bus 520 viasignal line 528. The first decryption module 510 is communicativelycoupled to the bus 520 via signal line 530.

The first communication module 502 may be software including routinesfor handling communications between the bandwidth reduction module 599and other components of the computing device 500. In someimplementations, the first communication module 502 may be a set ofinstructions executable by the first processor 535 to provide thefunctionality described below for handling communications between thebandwidth reduction module 599 and other components of the computingdevice 500. In some instances, the first communication module 502 may bestored in the storage device 509 of the computing device 500 and may beaccessible and executable by the first processor 535.

The first communication module 502 sends and receives data, via thefirst communication unit 545, to and from one or more of a client deviceand a DR server.

In some implementations, the first communication module 502 receivesdata from components of the bandwidth reduction module 599 and storesthe data in the storage device 509. In some implementations, the firstcommunication module 502 retrieves data from the storage device 509 andsends the data to one or more appropriate components of the bandwidthreduction module 599. In some implementations, the first communicationmodule 502 receives data from one or more appropriate components of thebandwidth reduction module 599 or the storage device 599 and sends thedata to other components of a system communicatively coupled to thecomputing device 500, such as components in the system 100 depicted inFIG. 1. The first communication module 502 may be adapted forcooperation and communication with the first processor 535 and othercomponents of the computing device 500 via signal line 522.

The peer module 504 may be software including routines for determiningpeer data. In some implementations, the peer module 504 may be a set ofinstructions executable by the first processor 535 to provide thefunctionality described herein for determining peer data. The peermodule 504 may communicate with the first communication module 504 tostore the peer data in the storage device 509. The peer module 504 maycommunicate with the first communication module 502 to transmit the peerdata to client devices. For example, the first communication module 502may transmit the peer data to the recipient peer clients.

In some implementations, the peer module 504 may be stored in thestorage device 509 of the computing device 500 and may be accessible andexecutable by the first processor 535. The peer module 504 may beadapted for cooperation and communication with the first processor 535and other components of the computing device 500 via signal line 524.

The event module 506 may be software including routines for determiningannouncement data. In some implementations, the event module 506 may bea set of instructions executable by the first processor 535 to providethe functionality described herein for determining announcement data.The event module 506 may communicate with the first communication module502 to store the announcement data in the storage device 509. The eventmodule 506 may communicate with the first communication module 502 totransmit the announcement data to the client devices. For example, thefirst communication module 502 may transmit the announcement data to oneor more recipient peer clients.

In some implementations, the event module 506 may be stored in thestorage device 509 of the computing device 500 and may be accessible andexecutable by the first processor 535. The event module 506 may beadapted for cooperation and communication with the first processor 535and other components of the computing device 500 via signal line 526.

The first encryption module 508 may be software including routines forencrypting data transmitted by the first communication module 502. Forexample, the first encryption module 508 encrypts peer data andannouncement data transmitted by the first encryption module 508 to oneor more client devices. In some implementations, the first encryptionmodule 508 may be a set of instructions executable by the firstprocessor 535 to provide the functionality described herein forencrypting data. The first encryption module 508 may communicate withthe first communication module 502 to retrieve data stored on thestorage device 509 and store encrypted data in the storage device 509.The first encryption module 508 may communicate with the firstcommunication module 502 to transmit the encrypted data to clientdevices. For example, the first communication module 502 may transmitencrypted peer data or encrypted peer data to the recipient peerclients.

In some implementations, the first encryption module 508 encrypts datausing a public key infrastructure. For example, the DR server 103 hasits own public key and digital certificate that are known and trusted byeach of the client devices 115, which are associated with the DR server103. In some implementations, the private key of the DR server 103 isonly known by the DR server 103. The client devices 115 included in theset of peer clients may know and trust the public key pair and digitalcertificate associated with the DR server 103. This example assumes thatfirst encryption module 508 is an element of the DR server 103, however,it may be understood that in some implementations the first encryptionmodule 508 may be an element of a client device.

In some implementations, the first encryption module 508 establishes apairwise shared secret key with each of the client devices 115 that areassociated with the DR server. The first encryption module 508 maycooperate with the first communication module 502 to establish apairwise shared secret key with the client devices 115 included in theset of peer clients. In other implementations, the first encryptionmodule 508 encrypts data using a symmetric-key encryption scheme, whichmay be beneficial since it may minimize computational overhead for theDR server 103 and the client devices 115 that are associated with the DRserver 103.

In some implementations, the DR server 103 executes different demandresponse programs (“DR programs”). A DR program may be any programimplemented by the DR server 103. For example, the DR program may be anenergy management program implemented by the DR server 103.

In some instances, the first encryption module 508 may establishdifferent shared secret keys for each of the different DR programs. Forexample, different client devices 115 communicate with the DR server 103to register for different DR programs. For each DR program, the DRserver 103 may maintain a different digital certificate, pairwise sharedsecret key and DR program key. After a particular client device 115 hasregistered for a particular DR program, the DR server 103 transmits thecorresponding digital certificate, pairwise shared secret key and DRprogram key to the client device 115. The transmission of the digitalcertification, pairwise shared secret key and DR program key may occuras an out-of-band communication.

In some implementations, the DR server 103 may maintain the same digitalcertificate and pairwise shared secret key for each DR program, butdifferent DR program keys for different DR programs. In some instances,one or more of the digital certificate, pairwise shared secret key andDR program key are different for each DR program. In other words, foreach DR program, any combination of the digital certificate, pairwiseshared secret key and DR program key may be different relative toanother DR program. For example, the first encryption module 508 maygenerate different shared secret keys for each DR program.

The first encryption module 508 may encrypt peer data. For example, thefirst encryption module 508 encrypts the peer data using a public keyinfrastructure. Encrypting the peer data using a public keyinfrastructure is beneficial since only the DR server 103 is able todefine peers. Similarly, the first encryption module 508 may encryptannouncement data. For example, the first encryption module 508 encryptsthe announcement data using a public key infrastructure so that only DRserver 103 is able to generate events. In some instances the firstencryption module 508 encrypts the announcement data using differentpublic keys for different client devices 115 included in the set of peerclients. The first encryption module 508 may encrypt the peer data andthe announcement data using any other encryption method.

The first communication module 502 may transmit the peer data or theannouncement data in a server beacon. As described above with referenceto FIG. 2, a “server beacon” is a signal transmitted by the DR server103 while a “beacon” is a signal transmitted by a client device 115. Theserver beacon may include server beacon data which describes, amongother things, the peer data or the announcement data. For example,assume the DR server 103 generates an event which is described byannouncement data associated with the event. The first communicationmodule 502 transmits a server beacon to a recipient peer client thatincludes server beacon data associated with the event. In this example,the server beacon data includes the announcement data describing theevent.

In some implementations, the storage device 509 stores data indicatingthat the event is associated with an event identifier (referred toherein as an “Event ID”) and the recipient peer client is associatedwith a recipient identifier (referred to herein as a “Recipient ID”).The Event ID and the Recipient ID may be stored in the storage device509.

In some implementations, a tuple may be included in a server beaconassociated with an event. For example, assume the DR server 103generates an event that is described by announcement data. The firstcommunication module 502 transmits a server beacon to a recipient peerclient that includes the announcement data describing the event. Theevent is identified by an Event ID and the recipient peer client isidentified by a Recipient ID. The server beacon data may include a tupledescribing the event. For example, the announcement data may include thetuple formed by an ordered list of the Recipient ID and Event ID, suchas {Event ID, Recipient ID} or {Recipient ID, Event ID}.

In some implementations, the Recipient ID may identify a particular DRprogram instead of identifying a particular client device 115. In someinstances, the announcement data is encrypted with a shared secret keycorresponding to the Recipient ID. In other instances, the transmissionof the server beacon is signed by the first encryption module 508 usinga private key associated with the DR server 103. Signing the serverbeacon with a private key associated with the DR server 103 isbeneficial, for example, because it ensures that only the DR server 103may issue a transmission that is acted on by a client device 115associated with the DR server 103.

In some implementations, the server beacon data includes a set of beaconparameters. The beacon parameters may be included as an element of thepeer data. The beacon parameters may also be a set of data that isseparate from the peer data. The beacon parameters may describe howfrequently the different peer clients may send beacons to one another,for example, as described above with reference to FIG. 2-4. The beaconparameters may also include data changing how the peer clients areassociated with one another. For example, the beacon parameters mayinclude update peer data. Update peer data is peer data that changes thecommunication associations among the different client devices 115included in the set of peer clients.

In some implementations, the first encryption module 508 may be storedin the storage device 509 of the computing device 500 and may beaccessible and executable by the first processor 535. The firstencryption module 508 may be adapted for cooperation and communicationwith the first processor 535 and other components of the computingdevice 500 via signal line 528.

The first encryption module 508 may be software including routines forencrypting data transmitted by the first communication module 502. Forexample, the first encryption module 508 encrypts peer data andannouncement data transmitted by the first encryption module 508 to oneor more client devices 115. In some implementations, the firstencryption module 508 may be a set of instructions executable by thefirst processor 535 to provide the functionality described herein forencrypting data. The first encryption module 508 may communicate withthe first communication module 502 to retrieve data stored on thestorage device 509 and store encrypted data in the storage device 509.The first encryption module 508 may communicate with the firstcommunication module 502 to transmit the encrypted data to the clientdevices 115. For example, the first communication module 502 maytransmit encrypted peer data to the recipient peer clients.

The first decryption module 510 may be software including routines fordecrypting data. In some implementations, the first decryption module510 may be a set of instructions executable by the first processor 535to provide the functionality described herein for decrypting data. Thefirst decryption module 510 may communicate with the first communicationmodule 502 to retrieve encrypted data stored on the storage device 109and store decrypted data in the storage device 109. The decrypted datamay be a decrypted equivalent (or version) of the encrypted data. Forexample, the first communication module 502 may receive encrypted eventresponse data from a recipient peer client as described above withreference to FIG. 4. The first communication module 502 transmits theencrypted event response data to the first decryption module 510. Thefirst decryption module 510 decrypts the event response data. The firstdecryption module 510 communicates with the first communication module502 to store the decrypted event response data on the storage device109.

In some implementations, the first decryption module 510 may be storedin the storage device 109 of the computing device 500 and may beaccessible and executable by the first processor 535. The firstdecryption module 510 may be adapted for cooperation and communicationwith the first processor 535 and other components of the computingdevice 500 via signal line 530.

Referring now to FIGS. 6A and 6B, an example of a method 600 fordetermining peer data and announcement data is described, in accordancewith at least one embodiment described herein. The method 600 isdescribed with respect to FIGS. 1-6. Although illustrated as discreteblocks, various blocks may be divided into additional blocks, combinedinto fewer blocks, or eliminated, depending on the desiredimplementation.

One skilled in the art will appreciate that, for this and otherprocesses and methods disclosed herein, the functions performed in theprocesses and methods may be implemented in differing order.Furthermore, the outlined steps and operations are only provided asexamples, and some of the steps and operations may be optional, combinedinto fewer steps and operations, or expanded into additional steps andoperations without detracting from the essence of the disclosedembodiments.

In the illustrated implementation of FIG. 6A, the method 600 may includethe first communication module 502 receiving 602 a Recipient ID from aclient device 115. The first communication module 502 stores 604 theRecipient ID in the storage device 509. The storage device 509 may storeone or more Recipient IDs. The peer module 504 determines 606 peer datafor a set of peer clients. The first encryption module 508 encrypts 608the peer data. The encrypted peer data is transmitted 610. The eventmodule 506 generates 612 announcement data describing one or moreevents. The first encryption module 508 encrypts 614 the announcementdata.

Referring now to FIG. 6B, the first communication module 502 transmits616 encrypted announcement data. The first communication module 502receives 618 event response data from one or more recipient peerclients. The event response data may be encrypted. The first decryptionmodule 510 decrypts 620 the event response data. The first communicationmodule 502 stores 622 the decrypted event response data on the storagedevice 509.

One skilled in the art will appreciate that, for this and otherprocesses and methods disclosed herein, the functions performed in theprocesses and methods may be implemented in differing order.Furthermore, the outlined steps and operations are only provided asexamples, and some of the steps and operations may be optional, combinedinto fewer steps and operations, or expanded into additional steps andoperations without detracting from the essence of the disclosedembodiments.

Referring now to FIG. 7, an example of an event manager module 707 isillustrated in more detail, in accordance with at least one embodimentdescribed herein. FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a computing device 700that includes an event manager module 707, a second processor 735, amemory 737 and a second communication unit 745 according to someexamples. The components of the computing device 700 are communicativelycoupled by a bus 720. In some implementations, the computing device 700may be a DR server, such as the DR server 103 of FIGS. 1-4 or a clientdevice, such as the client device 115 of FIGS. 1-4. The event managermodule 707 may be similar to the event manager module 107 of FIGS. 1-4.

The second processor 735 includes features similar to the firstprocessor 535. The features of the first processor 535 are describedabove with reference to FIG. 5. Accordingly, that description will notbe repeated here. Although FIG. 7 includes a single second processor735, multiple processors may be included. Other processors, operatingsystems, sensors, displays and physical configurations may be possible.The second processor 735 is coupled to the bus 720 via signal line 745.

The memory 737 stores instructions or data that may be executed by theprocessor 735. The instructions or data may include code for performingthe techniques described herein. The memory 737 is a non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium. For example, the memory 737 may be adynamic random access memory (DRAM) device, a static random accessmemory (SRAM) device, flash memory or some other memory device. In someimplementations, the memory 737 also includes a non-volatile memory orsimilar permanent storage device and media including a hard disk drive,a floppy disk drive, a CD-ROM device, a DVD-ROM device, a DVD-RAMdevice, a DVD-RW device, a flash memory device, or some other massstorage device for storing information on a more permanent basis. Thememory 737 is coupled to the bus 720 via signal line 748.

The second communication unit 745 transmits data to at least one of theclient device 115 and the DR server 103 depending on where the eventmanager module 707 may be stored. The second communication unit 745 mayalso receive data from at least one of the client device 115 and the DRserver 103 depending on where the event manager module 707 may bestored. The second communication unit 745 is coupled to the bus 720 viasignal line 746. The second communication unit 745 includes featuressimilar to the first communication unit 545. The features of the firstcommunication unit 545 are described above with reference to FIG. 5.Accordingly, that description will not be repeated here.

In the implementation illustrated in FIG. 7, the event manager module707 includes a second communication module 702, a determination module704, a second encryption module 708, a second decryption module 710, arecipient module 712, a duplication module 714, an aggregation module716, a redundancy module 718, a request module 722 and a report module724. These components of the event manager module 707 arecommunicatively coupled to each other via the bus 720.

The second communication module 702 is communicatively coupled to thebus 720 via signal line 722. The determination module 704 iscommunicatively coupled to the bus 720 via signal line 724. The secondencryption module 708 is communicatively coupled to the bus 720 viasignal line 728. The second decryption module 710 is communicativelycoupled to the bus 720 via signal line 730. The recipient module 712 iscommunicatively coupled to the bus 720 via signal line 732. Theduplication module 714 is communicatively coupled to the bus 720 viasignal line 734. The aggregation module 716 is communicatively coupledto the bus 720 via signal line 736. The redundancy module 718 iscommunicatively coupled to the bus 720 via signal line 738. The requestmodule 722 is communicatively coupled to the bus 720 via signal line742. The report module 724 is communicatively coupled to the bus 720 viasignal line 744.

The second communication module 702 may be software including routinesfor handling communications between the event manager module 707 andother components of the computing device 700. In some implementations,the second communication module 702 may be a set of instructionsexecutable by the second processor 735 to provide the functionalitydescribed below for handling communications between the event managermodule 707 and other components of the computing device 700. In someinstances, the second communication module 702 may be stored in thememory 737 of the computing device 700 and may be accessible andexecutable by the second processor 735.

The second communication module 702 sends and receives data, via thesecond communication unit 745, to and from one or more of a clientdevice 115 and the DR server 103.

In some implementations, the second communication module 702 receivesdata from components of the event manager module 707 and stores the datain the memory 737. In some implementations, the second communicationmodule 702 retrieves data from the memory 737 and sends the data to oneor more appropriate components of the event manager module 707. In someimplementations, the second communication module 702 receives data fromone or more appropriate components of the event manager module 707 orthe memory 737 and sends the data to other components of the system 100depicted in FIG. 1. The second communication module 702 may be adaptedfor cooperation and communication with the second processor 735 andother components of the computing device 700 via signal line 722.

The determination module 704 may be software that includes routines fordetermining beacon data. The beacon data may include any data that istransmitted by the client device 115. For example, the beacon data mayinclude data describing one or more of beacon parameters, the shortesthop count between different client devices 115, a request forannouncement data from a client device 115, an Event ID, a Recipient IDand a record indicator that the client device 115 which stores the eventmanager module 707 has data describing each of the events that have beengenerated by the DR server 103. The record indicator may be a flagindicating whether the client device 115, which stores the event managermodule 707, has data describing each of the events that have beengenerated by the DR server 103.

In some implementations, the determination module 704 may be a set ofinstructions executable by the second processor 735 to provide thefunctionality described herein for determining beacon data. Thedetermination module 704 may communicate with the second communicationmodule 704 to store the beacon data in the memory 737. The determinationmodule 704 may communicate with the second communication module 702 totransmit the beacon to one or more client devices 115 or the DR server103.

In some implementations, the determination module 704 may be stored inthe memory 737 of the computing device 700 and may be accessible andexecutable by the second processor 735. The determination module 704 maybe adapted for cooperation and communication with the second processor735 and other components of the computing device 700 via signal line724.

The second encryption module 708 may be software including routines forencrypting data. The second encryption module 708 may encrypt any dataaccessible by the event manager module 707. For example, the secondencryption module 708 encrypts beacon data, event response data, etc.The second encryption module 708 provides similar functionality as thefirst encryption module 508 described above with reference to FIG. 5,and so, that description will not be repeated here.

In some implementations, the second encryption module 708 may be a setof instructions executable by the second processor 735 to provide thefunctionality described herein for encrypting data. The secondencryption module 708 may communicate with the second communicationmodule 702 to store the encrypted data in the memory 737. The secondencryption module 708 may communicate with the second communicationmodule 702 to transmit encrypted data to one or more client devices 115or the DR server 103. For example, the second communication module 702may transmit encrypted beacon data to one or more client devices 115 orthe DR server 103.

In some implementations, the second encryption module 708 may be storedin the memory 737 of the computing device 700 and may be accessible andexecutable by the second processor 735. The second encryption module 708may be adapted for cooperation and communication with the secondprocessor 735 and other components of the computing device 700 viasignal line 728.

The second decryption module 710 may be software including routines fordecrypting data. The second decryption module 710 may decrypt anyencrypted data accessible by the event manager module 707. For example,the second decryption module 710 decrypts encrypted peer data,announcement data, beacon data, event response data, etc. The seconddecryption module 710 provides similar functionality as the firstdecryption module 510 described above with reference to FIG. 5, and so,that description will not be repeated here.

In some implementations, the second decryption module 710 may be a setof instructions executable by the second processor 735 to provide thefunctionality described herein for decrypting data. The seconddecryption module 710 may communicate with the second communicationmodule 702 to store the decrypted data in the memory 737.

In some implementations, the second decryption module 710 may be storedin the memory 737 of the computing device 700 and may be accessible andexecutable by the second processor 735. The second decryption module 710may be adapted for cooperation and communication with the secondprocessor 735 and other components of the computing device 700 viasignal line 730.

The recipient module 712 may be software including routines fordetermining a recipient for a transmission or signal. For example, therecipient module 712 determines a recipient for a beacon. The recipientmodule 712 may determine a recipient based on peer data generated by thebandwidth reduction module 199. For example, the recipient module 712 isan element of a first client device 115 and the peer data describeswhich other client devices 115 the first client device 115 cancommunicate with when transmitting data. The recipient module 712analyzes the peer data to determine which client devices 115 may be therecipient of a beacon transmitted by the event manager module 707. Insome instances, the recipient is a client device 115 having the lowesthop count to the DR server 103.

In some implementations, the recipient module 712 may determine arecipient based on a combination of the peer data and the announcementdata generated by the bandwidth reduction module 199. For example, theevent manager module 707 is an element of a first client device 115. Theevent manager module 707 receives a beacon from a different clientdevice 115. The beacon includes beacon data describing which events theother client device 115 has information about. As described above withreference to FIG. 2 and determining the presence of “a missing event,”the recipient module 712 analyzes the beacon data to determine whetherthe other client device 115 has information about an event which thefirst client device does not have information about. In other words, therecipient module 712 determines whether the other client device 115 hasannouncement data describing a missing event. In this situation, therecipient module 712 may determine the other client device 115 to be therecipient of a beacon including beacon data requesting information aboutthe missing event.

In some implementations, the event manager module 707 is transmitting abeacon including event response data to the DR server 103. If the eventmanager module 707 is an element of a client device 115 that is also arecipient peer client, then the recipient module 712 determines that theDR server 103 is the recipient of a beacon including the event responsedata. However, if the event manager module 707 is an element of a clientdevice 115 that is not a recipient peer client, then the recipientmodule 712 analyzes the peer data to determine a recipient for thebeacon. For example, the recipient module 712 analyzes the peer data todetermine one or more peers. In other words, as described above withreference to FIG. 2, the recipient module 712 determines the presence ofcommunications associations among the set of peer clients. Any clientdevice 115 with which the first client device 115 has a communicationassociation may be referred to as a “peer” or “peer client” of the firstclient device 115. The recipient module 712 then determines which of thepeers may be the recipient based on one or more metrics. For example,the recipient module 712 determines that the peer with the lowest hopcount to the DR server 103 is the recipient.

In some implementations, the recipient module 712 may be a set ofinstructions executable by the second processor 735 to provide thefunctionality described herein for determining a recipient. Therecipient module 712 may communicate with the second communicationmodule 704 to retrieve data from the memory 737 and store data on thememory 737.

In some implementations, the recipient module 712 may be stored in thememory 737 of the computing device 700 and may be accessible andexecutable by the second processor 735. The recipient module 712 may beadapted for cooperation and communication with the second processor 735and other components of the computing device 700 via signal line 732.

The duplication module 714 may be software including routines fordetermining the presence of duplicate data. The duplication module 714may also delete duplicate data. For example, the event manager module707 is an element of a first client device 115 that receives beaconsfrom multiple other client devices 115. The beacons include eventresponse data from the other client devices 115. Some of the eventresponse data may include duplicate data (or “duplicates”). Theduplication module 714 detects the presence of the duplicate data. Theduplication module 714 deletes the duplicate data.

The concept of duplicate data will now be described in further detail.For example, assume the first client device 115 receives event responsedata from a second client device 115 and a third client device 115.Assume that the second and third client device 115 have event responsedata for a fourth client device and this event response data for thefourth client device is included in the event response data received bythe first client device 115 from both the second client device 115 andthe third client device 115. Since the first client device 115 receivesevent response data for the fourth client device 115 from both thesecond client device 115 and the third client device 115, the firstclient device 115 has duplicate event response data for the fourthclient device 115. The duplication module 714 analyzes the eventresponse data received from different client devices 115 to determinethe presence of duplicates. The duplication module 714 may delete theduplicate data.

In some implementations, the duplication module 714 may be a set ofinstructions executable by the second processor 735 to provide thefunctionality described herein for determining duplicate data anddeleting duplicate data. The duplication module 714 may communicate withthe second communication module 702 to retrieve and delete data storedon the memory 737.

In some implementations, the duplication module 714 may be stored in thememory 737 of the computing device 700 and may be accessible andexecutable by the second processor 735. The duplication module 714 maybe adapted for cooperation and communication with the second processor735 and other components of the computing device 700 via signal line734.

The aggregation module 716 may be software including routines foraggregating data. For example, the event manager module 707 is anelement of a first client device 115 that receives beacons from multipleother client devices 115. The beacons include event response data fromthe other client devices 115. The aggregation module 716 aggregates thedifferent event response data to form a single set of event responsedata that may be delivered to the DR server 103 or another client device115. In some instances, the aggregation module 715 aggregates the eventresponse data to form a single packet that is transmitted in a beacon tothe DR server 103 or another client device 115. Aggregating the eventresponse data is beneficial, for example, because it reduces the packetoverhead for the recipient of the aggregated event response data.

In some implementations, the aggregation module 716 may be a set ofinstructions executable by the second processor 735 to provide thefunctionality described herein for determining aggregating data. Theaggregation module 716 may communicate with the second communicationmodule 704 to retrieve and delete data stored on the memory 737.

In some implementations, the aggregation module 716 may be stored in thememory 737 of the computing device 700 and may be accessible andexecutable by the second processor 735. The aggregation module 716 maybe adapted for cooperation and communication with the second processor735 and other components of the computing device 700 via signal line736.

The redundancy module 718 may be software including routines fordetermining whether redundant event response data may be transmitted.For example, the event manager module 707 is an element of a firstclient device 115 that transmits a beacon including event response datafor the first client device 115. The beacon is transmitted to a peerclient. The beacon may also include event response data from multipleother client devices 115 as described above with reference to theaggregation module 716. In some instances, it may be beneficial totransmit multiple beacons including this event response data todifferent peer clients since, for example, sending multiple beacons maycreate a redundancy that increases the likelihood that the DR server 103receives the event response data. The redundancy module 718 maydetermine whether a beacon including the event response data has beensent. The redundancy module 718 may also determine whether additionalbeacons including the event response data may be sent in order to createa redundancy. For example, the beacon parameters generated by thebandwidth reduction module 199 indicate that the event manager module707 may transmit a certain number of beacons including the eventresponse data and the redundancy module 718 ensures that event managermodule 707 transmits additional beacons based on the beacon parameters.

In some implementations, the redundancy module 718 may be a set ofinstructions executable by the second processor 735 to provide thefunctionality described herein for determining whether redundant eventresponse data is to be transmitted. The redundancy module 718 maycommunicate with the second communication module 704 to retrieve anddelete data stored on the memory 737.

In some implementations, the redundancy module 718 may be stored in thememory 737 of the computing device 700 and may be accessible andexecutable by the second processor 735. The redundancy module 718 may beadapted for cooperation and communication with the second processor 735and other components of the computing device 700 via signal line 738.

The request module 722 may be software including routines for generatingan event request. The event request includes data requesting informationabout a missing event. For example, assume the request module 722 is anelement of a first client device 115. The memory 737 stores announcementdata describing the events which the first client device 115 hasinformation about. The event manager module 707 receives a beacon from asecond client device 115 including announcement data describing eventsthat the first client device 115 does not have information about. Inother words, the beacon includes announcement data describing a missingevent. The recipient module 712 determines the presence of the missingevent. The request module 722 generates an event request including datadescribing a request for announcement data describing the missing event.The event request can be transmitted to the second client device 115 asa beacon. The request module 722 provides other functionality describedbelow with reference to FIGS. 10A and 10B.

In some implementations, the request module 722 may be a set ofinstructions executable by the second processor 735 to provide thefunctionality described herein for generating event requests. Therequest module 722 may communicate with the second communication module704 to retrieve data stored on the memory 737 and save data to thememory 737.

In some implementations, the request module 722 may be stored in thememory 737 of the computing device 700 and may be accessible andexecutable by the second processor 735. The request module 722 may beadapted for cooperation and communication with the second processor 735and other components of the computing device 700 via signal line 742.

The report module 724 may be software including routines for generatingreports. In some instances, the client device 115 includes hardware orsoftware configured to monitor the electricity consumption of the clientdevice 115 or an electrical device associated with the client device115. The client device 115 may be configured to monitor two or moreelectrical devices. The client device 115 may be configured to providetelemetry data describing the monitored events to the DR server 103. Thereports generated by the report module 724 may describe the telemetrydata associated with the client device 115. For example, the reportsdescribe the electricity consumption or historical load of the clientdevice 115 or an electrical device monitored by the client device 115.The reports may be included in the beacon data generated by the requestmodule 722 or by report data generated by the report module 724.

The reports generated by the report module 724 are beneficial, forexample, because they enable DR programs to be updated or improved byproviding the DR server 103 with information about the electricityconsumption or historical load of the client device 115 or an electricaldevice monitored by the client device 115. Since the DR server 103 mayreceive reports from each of the client devices 115 included in the setof peer clients, the DR server 103 may have information about theelectricity consumption or historical load for each of the clientdevices 115 included in the set of peer clients. The reports generatedby the report module 724 may describe other metrics associated with theclient device 115 or an electrical device monitored by the clientdevice.

In some implementations, the report module 724 may generate an eventlog. For example, the event manager module 707 is an element of a firstclient 115. The event log may include data describing the events whichthe first client device 115 has information about. For example, thesecond communication module 702 retrieves the announcement data storedon the memory 737 and the report module 724 uses the announcement datato generate an event log describing each of the events which the firstclient device 115 has information about. In some instances, the datadescribing the report may include an identifier indicating that theevent log is a complete record of all the events that have beengenerated by the DR server 103. For example, the report includes a flagindicating that the event log includes a complete record of all theevents that have been generated by the DR server 103.

In some implementations, the report module 724 may be a set ofinstructions executable by the second processor 735 to provide thefunctionality described herein for generating reports. The report module724 may communicate with the second communication module 704 to retrievedata stored on the memory 737 and save data to the memory 737.

In some implementations, the report module 724 may be stored in thememory 737 of the computing device 700 and may be accessible andexecutable by the second processor 735. The report module 724 may beadapted for cooperation and communication with the second processor 735and other components of the computing device 700 via signal line 744.

Referring now to FIG. 8, an example of a method 800 for determiningbeacon data is described, in accordance with at least one embodimentdescribed herein. The method 800 is described in combination with FIGS.1-4 and 7. In the illustrated implementation, the method 800 may includethe second communication module 702 receiving 802 peer data from the DRserver 103 or a client device 115. The peer data may be included in aserver beacon received from the DR server 103 or another client device115. The second decryption module 710 decrypts 804 the peer data. Thedetermination module 704 determines 806 beacon data. The beacon datadetermined by the determination module 704 may include the peer data.For example, the client manager module 707 is an element of a firstclient device 115. The peer data describes that one or more clientdevices 115 has one or more peer clients. The client manager module 707needs to relay the peer data to a peer client so that the peer clienthas the peer data. The determination module 704 determines 806 beacondata that includes the peer data so that the beacon data may betransmitted to the peer client.

The second encryption module 708 encrypts 808 the beacon data. Therecipient module 712 determines 810 a recipient for the beacon data. Thesecond communication module 802 transmits 812 a beacon including thebeacon data to the recipient.

Referring now to FIGS. 9A and 9B, an example of a method 900 fordetermining event response data is described, in accordance with atleast one embodiment described herein. The method 900 is described incombination with FIGS. 1-4 and 7.

As illustrated in FIG. 9A, the method 900 may include the secondcommunication module 702 receiving 902 announcement data from the DRserver 103 or a first client device 115. The second decryption module710 decrypts 904 the announcement data. The determination module 704determines 906 a first set of event response data associated with theannouncement data. For example, the client manager module 707 is anelement of a first client device 115 and the first set of event responsedata determined at step 906 describes whether the first client device115 participates in the event described by the announcement data. Thefirst set of event response data may also include a report generated bythe report module 724. In other words, in some instances a report is aresponse to an event.

The second communication module 702 receives 908 a second set of eventresponse data from a second client device 115. The second set of eventresponse data may include event response data from one or more clientdevices 115. The second decryption module 710 decrypts 910 the secondset of event response data. The second communication module 702 mayreceive additional sets of event response data from other second clients115. The duplication module 714 determines 912 the presence ofduplicates among the event response data received from the one or moresecond clients 115. The duplication module 714 deletes 914 anyduplicates included in the second set of event response data so that thesecond set of event response data does not include any duplicates. Theaggregation module 716 aggregates 916 the first set of event responsedata and the second set of event response data.

Referring now to FIG. 9B, the redundancy module 718 determines 918whether the event manager module 707 has transmitted a beacon responsiveto the announcement data. If a response has been sent, then the method900 moves to step 920. At step 920 the redundancy module 718 determines920 whether additional responses for the announcement data are scheduledto be sent to other recipients. If the redundancy module 718 determinesthat additional responses are scheduled to be sent, then the method 900moves to step 922. If the redundancy module 718 determines thatadditional responses are not scheduled to be sent, then the method 900ends.

If at step 918 the redundancy module 718 determines 918 that a responsehas not been sent, then the method 900 moves to step 922. At step 922the second encryption module 728 encrypts the aggregated event responsedata. The recipient module 712 determines 924 a recipient from among thepeer clients for the first client device 115.

The recipient module 712 determines 926 whether any of the peer clientsfor the first client device 115 has a lower hop count than the recipientdetermined at step 924. If at step 926 the recipient module 712determines the presence of a peer client with a lower hop count than therecipient identified at step 924, then the method returns to step 924where the first recipient may be excluded from being selected a secondtime by the recipient module 712. If at step 926 the recipient module712 does not determine the presence of a peer client with a lower hopcount than the recipient identified at step 924, then the method 900moves to step 928. The recipient identified at step 924 may be the DRserver 103.

At step 928 the second communication module 702 transmits 928 a beaconincluding the aggregated event response data to the recipient. Theaggregated event response data may be encrypted as described for step922.

Referring now to FIGS. 10A and 10B, an example of a method 1000 fordetermining event response data is described, in accordance with atleast one embodiment described herein. The method 1000 is described incombination with the FIGS. 1-4 and 7. As illustrated in FIG. 10A, theevent manager module 707 may be an element of a first client device 115.In the illustrated implementation, the method 1000 may include thesecond communication module 702 receiving 1002 beacon data from a secondclient device 115. The beacon data may include an event log whichdescribes all the events which the second client device 115 hasinformation about. In some instances, the beacon data may include a flagindicating that the beacon data includes a complete record of all theevents that have been generated by the DR server 103.

The second decryption module 710 decrypts 1004 the beacon data. Therecipient module 712 determines 1006 whether the memory 737 storesannouncement data describing all of the events included in the eventlog. If at step 1006 the announcement data stored in the memory 737describes all of the events included in the event log, then the method1000 returns to step 1002. If at step 1006 the announcement data storedin the memory 737 does not describe all of the events included in theevent log, then the method 1000 moves to step 1010.

At step 1010 the request module 722 generates an event request. Theevent request may include data describing a request for announcementdata from a second client device 115 that describes one or more eventsthat are not described in the announcement data stored in the memory 737of the first client device 115. In other words, the event requestincludes data describing a request for a missing event. The eventrequest can be transmitted to the second client device 115 as a beacon.The second encryption module 708 encrypts 1012 the event request data.The recipient module 712 determines 1014 which peer client may be therecipient of the event request. For example, the recipient module 712determines 1014 that the recipient is a peer client that has therequested announcement data and is the fewest number of hops from thefirst client device 115.

Referring now to FIG. 10B, the second communication module 702 transmits1016 a beacon including the event request data to the recipient. Therequest module 722 determines 1018 whether a response including therequested announcement data has been received from the recipient. If atstep 1018 the request module 722 determines that the response has notbeen received, then the method 1000 moves back to step 1014 and therecipient module 712 determines a different recipient for the request.Optionally, the method 1000 may wait a predetermined period of timebefore moving back to step 1014. If at step 1018 the request module 722determines that the response has been received, then the method 1000moves to step 1020. At step 1020 the second communication module 702stores the announcement data in the memory 737.

The embodiments described herein may include the use of a specialpurpose or general-purpose computer including various computer hardwareor software modules, as discussed in greater detail below.

Embodiments described herein may be implemented using computer-readablemedia for carrying or having computer-executable instructions or datastructures stored thereon. Such computer-readable media may be anyavailable media that may be accessed by a general purpose or specialpurpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, suchcomputer-readable media may include tangible computer-readable storagemedia including Random Access Memory (RAM), Read-Only Memory (ROM),Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), CompactDisc Read-Only Memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disk storage, magneticdisk storage or other magnetic storage devices, flash memory devices(e.g., solid state memory devices), or any other storage medium whichmay be used to carry or store desired program code in the form ofcomputer-executable instructions or data structures and which may beaccessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. Combinationsof the above may also be included within the scope of computer-readablemedia.

Computer-executable instructions comprise, for example, instructions anddata which cause a general purpose computer, special purpose computer,or special purpose processing device (e.g., one or more processors) toperform a certain function or group of functions. Although the subjectmatter has been described in language specific to structural featuresand/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subjectmatter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to thespecific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific featuresand acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementingthe claims.

As used herein, the terms “module” or “component” may refer to specifichardware implementations configured to perform the operations of themodule or component and/or software objects or software routines thatmay be stored on and/or executed by general purpose hardware (e.g.,computer-readable media, processing devices, etc.) of the computingsystem. In some embodiments, the different components, modules, engines,and services described herein may be implemented as objects or processesthat execute on the computing system (e.g., as separate threads). Whilesome of the system and methods described herein are generally describedas being implemented in software (stored on and/or executed by generalpurpose hardware), specific hardware implementations or a combination ofsoftware and specific hardware implementations are also possible andcontemplated. In this description, a “computing entity” may be anycomputing system as previously defined herein, or any module orcombination of modulates running on a computing system.

All examples and conditional language recited herein are intended forpedagogical objects to aid the reader in understanding the invention andthe concepts contributed by the inventor to furthering the art, and areto be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recitedexamples and conditions. Although embodiments of the present inventionshave been described in detail, it may be understood that the variouschanges, substitutions, and alterations could be made hereto withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: configuring peer clientsassociated with a demand response (DR) application server, theconfiguring including: determining first peer data configured to reducebandwidth requirements for the DR application server, the first peerdata describing the peer clients and how the peer clients communicatewith one another, the first peer data configured so that the DRapplication server directly communicates with a first subset of the peerclients, the first subset of the peer clients including a first peerclient, the first peer data configured so that the DR application serverdoes not directly communicate with a second subset of the peer clients,the second subset of the peer clients including a second peer client anda third peer client, and the first peer data configured so that the DRapplication server indirectly communicates with the second subset of thepeer clients via the first peer client; establishing a first secret keyand a corresponding first public key, wherein the first secret key isretained by the DR application server and the first public key isdisseminated to the peer clients to decrypt data encrypted using thefirst secret key; encrypting the first peer data using the first secretkey; transmitting the encrypted first peer data; establishing an energymanagement program, the establishing including: establishing a secondsecret key and a corresponding second public key, wherein the secondsecret key and the second public key correspond to the energy managementprogram and the second public key is retained at the DR applicationserver to decrypt data encrypted using the second secret key; receivinga first signal that is indicative of participation by the second peerclient in the energy management program; receiving a second signal thatis indicative of participation by the third peer client in the energymanagement program; responsive to the first signal and the secondsignal, transmitting the second secret key to the second peer client andto the third peer client; implementing a DR event of the energymanagement program, the implementing including: generating announcementdata describing the DR event, the announcement data configured to bereceived by participants in the energy management program; encryptingthe announcement data using the first secret key; communicating, inaccordance with the first peer data, a server beacon including theencrypted announcement data to the first peer client; receiving, fromthe first peer client, in accordance with the first peer data, firstevent response data including a first indication of whether the secondpeer client will participate in the DR event, the first event responsedata being encrypted using the second secret key; receiving, from thefirst peer client, in accordance with the first peer data, second eventresponse data including an indication of whether the third peer clientwill participate in the DR event, the second event response data beingencrypted using the second secret key; and using the second public key,decrypting the first and second event response data received at the DRapplication server.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first peerdata is encrypted using a public key infrastructure to allow only the DRapplication server to define the peer clients.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein a response described in the first event response data includesone of: an acknowledgement of the DR event indicating that the secondpeer client is scheduled to participate in the DR event; and an opt-outindicating that the second peer client is not scheduled to participatein the DR event.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first eventresponse data includes a report describing telemetry and historical loadfor the second peer client.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the serverbeacon includes server beacon parameters configured to perform one orboth of: specifying how frequently the peer clients transmit beacon datato one another, and changing how the peer clients are associated withone another.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the energy managementprogram is established by the DR application server.
 7. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the shared second secret key is established by the DRapplication server.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the second secretkey is transmitted as an out-of-band communication.
 9. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the DR application server maintains the second secretkey.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the energy management program isa first energy management program, the announcement data is a firstannouncement data, and the server beacon is a first server beacon, themethod further comprising: implementing a second energy managementprogram; establishing a third shared secret key corresponding to thesecond energy management program; encrypting second announcement databased on the third shared secret key; and transmitting a second serverbeacon of the second announcement data.